Physics, Fun, and Beyond: Electrifying Projects and Inventions from Recycled and Low-Cost Materials

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“The best magic is that which involves absolutely no sleight-of-hand, only the unexpected yet natural workings of nature. Physics, Fun, and Beyond is chock full of just this kind of magic–simple yet fascinating experiments, easy to follow and colorful drawings, and fun facts. Simply wonderful!” –Roald Hoffmann, 1981 Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry Pure Fun, Pure Excitement: You’;ve Never Learned Physics Like This Before! Physics is pure excitement: nothing’;s more fun than discovering how the world works and exploring its many possibilities! With Physics, Fun, and Beyond, you’;ll grab the universe in your own two hands as you build more than 110 projects that uncover the physics beneath everyday life! Most of these projects are amazingly easy to build: all you’;ll need are your everyday household tools and cheap (sometimes even free) materials. From wind tunnels to flying saucers, you’;ll learn exactly how to safely build these experiments, why they work, and what they mean. Learn about all this, and more: Step on eggs without breaking them...and understand the principles of material strength Build the “Magic Can” that teaches you about the different kinds of energy Discover why the Earth isn’;t exactly round Learn more about gravity, with the “Astronaut in the Elevator” experiment Use pendulums to visualize radio/TV frequencies and broadcasting Feel pressure by sitting on a bed of nails Build hydraulic robots to discover how you can transmit and amplify forces Construct wings and wind tunnels that show why airplanes fly Learn about optics by making bottles invisible Recreate the sun and sky to realize why the sky is blue Demonstrate the “greenhouse effect” with a homemade solar heater Get water to climb walls–as you understand cohesion and adhesion Build “wireless phones” that capture sound and make acoustics fun Create simple motors that display the basics of electromagnetism Physics, Fun, and Beyond is for kids, teenagers, teachers, parents, homeschoolers...everyone from 10 to 100 with curiosity and a passion for discovery and new challenges! © Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved Cover Contents Preface Acknowledgments About the Author How to Get Going Fun with Mechanics 1 The Magic Can 2 How the Weak Become Strong (Structuring Materials) 3 Stepping on Eggs 4 Thin and Fat Balloons 5 Pierce Balloons without Popping Them 6 Stretching Carrousel 7 A Paper Saw? 8 Globe of Death 9 Flattening the Earth at the Poles 10 Wild Paints 11 Astronaut in the Elevator 12 Washing Machine: Water Extractor 13 The Square Wheel and Others 14 Balloon Rockets 15 Rockets with Chemical and Air Propulsion 16 Water Rockets 17 Bouncing Balls 18 Temperamental Pendulums 19 Hypersensitive Rings 20 Bed of Nails 21 Bed of Rulers 22 The Submarine 23 Water Amplifier (Water Transistor) 24 Hydraulic Elevator 25 Hydraulic Robots 26 Drawbridges 27 Circumventing Obstacles: How Air and Water Streams Find Their Way 28 Juggling Balloons 29 Air Streams on Top of Cars, Roofs, and Mountains 30 Make Your Own Sprayer 31 Wind Tunnel 32 Unwanted Ball 33 Outsmarting Friction (Flying Saucer) 34 Wheel That Rolls Uphill 35 The Ballerina’s Trick 36 The Bicycle’s Trick 37 Accelerometer 38 Raw or Hard-Boiled Egg 39 Hand-Operated Water Pump (Archimedes’ Screw) 40 Water Fountain 41 How to Get on Top (Brazil Nut Effect) Playing With Light: Optics 1 Invisible Glass 2 Decomposing Light into a Rainbow: 21st-Century Version of Newton’s Classical Experiments 3 Challenge Your Perception 4 Moiré Patterns 5 Lenses Made of Air and Water 6 The Light at the End of the Tunnel 7 The Ghost Behind the Mirror 8 Levitation and Cubism with a Flat Mirror 9 Magical Theater 10 The Miracle of the Fishes: Parallel Mirrors 11 Kaleidoscopes Festival 12 Dark Chamber 13 New Discoveries with Polarizers 14 Why Is the Sky Blue? 15 Exploring the Laser Ray 16 Tubes of Light: Fiber Optics 17 Slow-Motion Camera 18 Fractal Christmas The World of Atoms and Our World: Cold, Heat, and Giant Bubbles 1 Jiggling Atoms 2 Crushing Cans and Plastic Bottles 3 Bending Laser Beams with Hot Air 4 Steam Machine 5 The Little Steamboat 6 Burn Balloons Without Popping Them 7 Air and Water Thermometers 8 Full Balloon with End Open 9 Invisible Hand 10 Pneumatic Tire Valves 11 Car in the Sun: Greenhouse Effect and Solar Heater 12 Can Competition: Which Heats Up and Cools Down Faster? 13 Fog-Proof Mirrors 14 Tying a Knot in a Stream of Water 15 Soap Saddles? You Are Joking! 16 Racquets and Tennis Balls Made of Soap 17 Flexible Colors 18 Two-Dimensional Vortex 19 Pass Through a Soap Film Without Popping It 20 Non-Cutting Scissors 21 Gigantic Soap Bubbles and Films 22 Speeding Up Water Droplets 23 Liquid Climbers 24 Whirlpools (3D Vortices) 25 Outlets Clogged with Water 26 Forcing an Egg Out of the Shell Playing With Sounds: Acoustics 1 Telephone with a Wire 2 Scratching Made Louder 3 When Is a Pipe a Bell? 4 Tick-Tock of the Clock 5 Wireless Telephone: Parabolic Acoustic Mirrors 6 Focusing Sound 7 Home-Made Variable-Pitch Whistle 8 Sounds of Paper 9 Secrets of the Guitar 10 Singing Hose 11 From Lungs to Mouth 12 Pictures of Sounds Electrifying Experiments: Electricity and Magnetism 1 Sticking Balloons on Walls: Static Electricity 2 Making Water Detour 3 Wireless Lamp 4 Salt Water Turns into Gas: Electrolysis 5 Electric Gates: Thermal Relays 6 Electric Hoist: Electromagnets 7 Chaotic Pendulum 8 Painting Pictures with an Electric Hoist 9 Electric Motor 10 Crazy Toboggan: Electromagnetic Braking 11 Magnetic Levitation 12 Silent Radio 13 Car Control Versus TV Control Patterns for Fun with Mechanics, Experiment 13: The Square Wheel and Others Patterns for Playing with Light: Optics, Experiment 3: Challenge Your Perception Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W